By: Guadalupe Monarrez
Boca Raton, Fla- On May 16th, the Beautification Committee of Boca Raton hosted its’ 28th Annual Landscape Excellence Awards in the Boca Raton City Hall Chamber. Beautification Committee chairman Barbara Benefield presented the awards to the winners, as Mayor Susan Whelchel was unable to attend and present the awards.
“Boca Raton makes an effort to maintain landscaping and the committee does many things to sustain those efforts,” said Benefield.
The Beautification Committee determined the winners in various categories and they received a plaque, which included a photgraph of the site and the name of the location.
One Boca Place won the Large Commercial category, Woolbright Development won the Small commercial category, National Safe Drivers(NSD) won the Industrial category, Les Jardins won the Residential(low density gated) category, Provence won the Residential(medium density ungated) category, the Mayfair won the Residential(high density) category, St. Andrews Estates South won the Institutional category, Boca Village Corporate Center won the LEED Environmentally Green category, Chabad of East Boca Raton won the Place of Worship category, Mobile Service Station won the Automotive Services category, and Boca Raton Garden Club won the Open category.
The committee, which meets twice every month and anyone is welcome to join, considered many factors when they decided who would be the winner.
Barabara Benefield explains, “We look at the amount of landscaping, how it enhances the appearance of the building, whether the trees have been properly trimmed, and whether it has any code violations from the city.”
“When we find something with very good landscaping, we give the address to Dick Randall and he takes pictures from different angles of the front and sides of the building,” said Benefield. Dick Randall is very familiar with the community and is the committee’s official photgrapher.
The committee also chose runner-ups for categories this year, something that had not been done in previous years. It encourages businesses to keep up with the landscaping of their buildings in hope of winning the following year.
“At times there is a new residential community with beautiful landscaping but we say, “Let’s give them a year or two and see if they keep it looking good,” this gives the plants a time to mature,” mentioned Benefield.
Lang Realty, the sponsor of the event, hosted a small luncheon that followed after the presentation. They have worked with the committee for many years and value the importance of landscaping within the Boca Raton community.
“Landscaping is what makes homes beautiful, we are pleased to work with and support the committee,” praised Kevin M. Carroll, President of Lang Management Company.
The primary goal of the committee is to foster public awareness of landscaping and to have a working relationship with the city to make Boca Raton the most beautiful city in the United States. The committee supports programs that educate the public about tree maintenance, landscaping, and that encourages the preservation and increase of tree canopys within the community.